BEIRUT, Lebanon - Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said he would remain in office to prevent the outbreak of a civil war as political parties were turning the country into a battlefield for regional conflicts, local Daily Star reported on Wednesday.

"We have turned Lebanon into a battlefield for regional conflicts ... This logic is suicidal," Siniora told Al-Arabiya television news channel in an interview on Tuesday.

The premier vowed to prevent civil war from breaking out again in Lebanon, which is still reeling from the devastating 1975-1990 civil war between rival sects battling each other with the support of an array of foreign powers, said the report.

"We want to avoid discord. My presence here (in the government),and that of many others will prevent discord and civil war because even if there is war ... in the end, we will have to sit back together" to settle disputes through dialogue, he said.

"I still have hope, and continue to seek that there will be no street protests," he said. "We are constantly working to prevent the outbreak of any clashes." he added.

Lebanon, long been divided between opponents and supporters of Syria, saw a political crisis blew up in full force following the resignation of six pro-Syrian ministers from Hezbollah and its allies, hours after all-party roundtable talks collapsed and the assassination of an anti-Syrian minister last week.

The Shiite group and its pro-Syrian allies had been demanding a greater say in the anti-Syrian forces-dominated government led by Siniora. They have warned of street protests if the demand was not met.

The militant Lebanese Hezbollah on Sunday renewed their threats of "surprise" street protests aimed at toppling Siniora's government, one day after Lebanon's cabinet approved a plan for setting up an international tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, overriding objections from Hezbollah and other pro-Syrian factions.

The anti-Syrian ruling parliamentary majority led by Siniora has accused Hezbollah and Amal movement, the main pro-Syrian and pro-Iranian Shiite groups, of doing Damascus's and Tehran's bidding and seeking to undermine the formation of the tribunal. -Xinhua